Aethelnoth

Æthelnoth (d. 1038), archbishop of Canterbury, known also as Egelnodus or Ednodus, was a son of the ealdorman Æthelmaer, and a member of the royal family of Wessex.

He became a monk at Glastonbury, then dean of the monastery of Christ Church, Canterbury, and chaplain to King Canute, and on November 13 1020 was consecrated archbishop of Canterbury.

In 1022 he went to Rome to obtain the pallium, and was received with great respect by Pope Benedict VIII. Returning from Rome he purchased at Pavia a relic said to be an arm of St Augustine of Hippo, for a hundred talents of silver and one of gold, and presented it to the abbey of Coventry.

He appears to have exercised considerable influence over Canute, largely by whose aid he restored his cathedral at Canterbury. A story of doubtful authenticity tells how he refused to crown King Harold I, as he had promised Canute to crown none but a son of the king by his wife, Emma. Æthelnoth, who was called the "Good," died on October 29 1038, and his name appears in the lists of saints.

This entry was originally from the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.